A major problem on the highways of the United States and other developed countries is the amount of vehicular traffic on the road. Not only are there an ever increasing amount of vehicles but the excessive speed at which they are traveling is increasing. This is due to political reasons, the raising of speed limits, commercial reasons, the commercial sector advocating higher speeds for interstate trucking and the very technological advances in the vehicles, both private and commercial, themselves.
The excessive speed of vehicles is the main contributor to accidents in general as well as injury and death associated with accidents when they occur. Therefore, to reduce highway accidents and deaths, this excessive speed of vehicles must be lessened. Reducing the excessive speed of vehicles, studies show, decreases the frequency and severity of accidents. There is a population segment which is at higher risk of accidents likely due to excessive speed. It is the purpose of this invention to limit the speed of vehicles of the at risk driver which will decrease accident frequency and severity within this population.
Driving faster than road conditions allow is involved in a large percentage of automobile and truck accidents. In addition, when an accident occurs at higher speed the risk of injury of the at-risk driver and others is increased. The instant invention will re-educate drivers to drive slower which will decrease accident frequency and severity. Novice drivers are especially at increased risk due to their undeveloped driving skills and their limited ability to judge risk. The novice group has been identified as significantly at risk and this is reflected in higher insurance premiums. The instant invention, a programmable speed governor, allows the vehicle owner to prospectively program a limit to the speed of the car in which it is installed. Additionally, the memory capability and driving database generated by the device allows for a review of compliance with the speed limiting governor. This review may be preferred for various reasons including insurance, liability and legal reasons and allows for an education of the driver in order to decrease speed and, hopefully, accident frequency and severity.
There is substantial research associating increased speed with an increase in the risk of collision with another vehicle or object. These higher speeds also contribute substantially to a higher risk of injury and death when an accident occurs. In a 1995 study, Cooper et al found excessive speed to be the violation most commonly involved in accidents resulting in injuries or fatalities. In the study of novice drivers, forty-one percent (41%) of those having had an accident claim had recent prior convictions for driving violations. Additionally, excessive speed was involved with sixty-nine percent (69%) of these violations with an additional seventeen percent (17%) including citations for failure to obey traffic controls (or running red lights and stop signs) which is often associated with speeding. In those accidents which produced casualties, forty-two percent (42%) of drivers had recent prior convictions for driving violations, the vast majority of which was for speeding. Cooper et al concluded that prior convictions, mostly for speeding, is a very good predictor and early warning system for novice drivers whom are likely to be involved in automobile accidents. The data strongly suggests that the prevention of speeding will lead to an immediate decrease in the accident rate as well as the cost to property. These statistics can be used to develop intervention strategies to decrease the likelihood of auto accidents resulting in injury or death. An additional finding of the study by Cooper et al was that novice drivers involved in accidents where they (as opposed to another party) were found to be at fault were likely to be driving either (i) for pleasure or (ii) to and from work in a car for which they were neither the principal operator of the car nor the owner of the car. This suggests that in most accident cases involving a novice driver, they are most likely driving their parent's car to go to or from a job or were just “cruising”. The parent, whose car is being driven, thus has a vested interest in having an ability to prevent violations which result in an increase in accident risk.
The higher incidence of accidents among young drivers has been attributed to risk taking attitudes manifested as reckless driving, particularly speeding and tailgating. The urge for risk taking and sensation seeking peaks during the late adolescence and, coupled with a lack of driving experience, which prevents novice drivers from accurately calculating or perceiving the risks involved with their driving style, is clearly a deadly combination. A study in 1993 in Los Angeles found that drivers eighteen to thirty were more likely to report speeding often or most of the time than drivers in other and older age groups. Specifically, drivers aged eighteen to thirty report speeding “often” (60% of the time) with thirty-one percent (31%) reporting running a red light in the past month a violation often accompanying speeding. The study went on to report that drivers admitting they drove after drinking alcohol were significantly more likely to speed and run red lights. The inability of youth to appreciate the horrors of risk taking in a vehicle, often accentuated by alcohol, likely contributes to these attitudes. Alcohol is either a “cause” of accidents by preventing the driver from assessing the situation correctly or a “contributor” to the risk taking associated especially with younger drivers. If one can limit the speed of the vehicles, then a clearer understanding of what contributes to or causes an accident can be attained. In addition, an accident at lower speed will result In less property and personal damage and injury.
Who then can be said to be a potential user or market for the programmable speed limiter? Certainly the parent or principal vehicle owner can be said to have a vested interest in decreasing the risk of his or her son or daughter having an accident with their vehicle. Decreasing the speed of a vehicle one's own child is driving effectively reduces the chance of injury or death of said child. In addition, the ability of the parent to use the instant invention to monitor driving performance is a prerequisite to education of the child about driving risks to result in fewer violations and/or accidents and lower costs of ownership of the vehicles.
Another use of the instant invention are owners of vehicles who have a high violation record index and are said to be “at risk” drivers. Courts can impose the restriction of having a speed governor on one's car if one has a bad driving record yet needs to keep driving to keep a job or the like. The judiciary currently imposes restrictions on these drivers such as breath analyzers, which can stop the vehicles motor, for drunk driving convictions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has considered, and some states have imposed, provisional driver licensing guideline among its efforts to reduce the public safety hazard of the risk taking and novice driver. As the restriction imposed by the instant invention is on the car, not the driver, it would be easier to enforce. The authorities could demand the insertion of the programmable speed limiter and the driver could not alter it resulting in forced, reviewable compliance.
Yet another market exists for the instant invention among companies who hire drivers for commercial purposes. This ranges from couriers to interstate trailer trucks and limiting the speed of the commercial vehicles would bring a welcome sigh of relief to the segment of the population that must travel on interstates. Incredibly, motor vehicle injuries account for one third (33%) of the work related deaths and therefore, decreasing the number of accidents would directly affect worker safety. The present check on interstate rigs is for viewers of the infractions to call 800 numbers, which is estimated that only result in about 10% of the infractions being reported. In addition, the driver always can argue that the complainant was wrong and there is no factual evidence to refute it. With the instant invention, the memory capability of the speed governor allows for a permanent record of the drivers possible violations. It would identify individual driving habits which should afford the fleet owner the ability to improve driver safety, likely decrease accidents and violations resulting in significant insurance property, workman's compensation and liability insurance savings.
The instant invention also contemplates the ability to employ GPS technology in its overall control system by making it remote and location sensitive. Both the computer part of the moderator and the car monitor can be used together with the GPS technology to slow the car down in certain areas such as school zones or construction zones. A sensor can monitor special electronic warning alarms established by the highway department of the area so as to automatically limit the speed of the vehicle.